The present invention relates to a shovel for being supported on the implement shank of an agricultural cultivator.
The use of cultivators is known in agriculture for killing weeds by disturbing the soil and breaking the weeds at the root. A common type of cultivator includes a plurality of implement shanks projecting downwardly and forwardly therefrom towards the ground for supporting a plurality of cultivator shovels or sweeps respectively thereon. The shovels generally include a laterally extending leading edge arranged to be pulled through the ground just below a surface of the ground for disturbing the soil and breaking the weeds at the roots. When using common cultivator shovels, several passes are often required as many weeds are not successfully destroyed because they are known to be deflected around the shovels by the disturbed soil instead of being forced over the shovel when the cultivator is pulled across the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,946,006 to Struckmeyer; U.S. Pat. No. 709,147 to Fay and U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,227 to Noonan et al disclose variations to shovels or weeding-type implements, however none appear particularly suited for effective weeding on the implement shank of a cultivator. U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,577 to Tibbs discloses a shovel which is intended for use on a cultivator to improve the effective soil disturbance when pulled through the ground. In addition to the forward facing apex of conventional shovels a pair of auxiliary wings are provided which project laterally outwardly and forwardly from the shovel for engaging the ground in a more aggressive manner. Upright end plates are located at the outer free ends of the wings. The end plates however do not extend upwardly beyond a trailing edge of the plough and thus do not considerably affect soil disturbance by the shovel. Furthermore the forward projecting wings increase resistance to the cultivator being pulled through the ground and are readily susceptible to being broken due to the extreme forces of ground resistance being applied to the outer free ends of the shovel.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a shovel for being supported on an implement shank of an agricultural implement supported for movement along the ground in a forward working direction, the shovel comprising:
a shank mount comprising an upright channel for receiving the implement shank therein;
a shovel body supported on a lower end of the shank mount having a leading edge extending rearwardly and outwardly from opposing sides of a forward apex to respective rearward free ends; and
a pair of end plates mounted on the shovel body adjacent the respective rearward free ends, the end plates extending upwardly from the leading edge of the shovel body.
Providing a shovel body having a leading edge which extends rearwardly and outwardly from opposing sides of a forward apex, minimizes ground resistance when the cultivator is pulled across the ground. The location of the end plates at the free ends of the shovel body ensures that weeds are not readily deflected about the free ends of the shovel body by the disturbed soil being carried over the shovel body, but rather ensure that the weeds or the roots thereof are broken either on the leading edge of the shovel body or on the forward edge of the end plates as the end plates cut through the disturbed soil passing over the shovel body when oriented to extend upwardly from the leading edge at the free ends as described herein.
The use of end plates at the rearward free ends of the shovel body provides a clean kill when weeding as soil disturbance is increased dramatically and as a result shallow rooted weeds such as millet die. Also tap rooted plants such as tansy mustard don""t slip around the end of the shovel, but are forced over the blade due to the soil action created by the end plates. This results in a savings of equipment as less wear and maintenance will be required, a savings of fuel and a savings of time because the increased weed kill percentage enables the same effective weeding by the cultivator in fewer passes of the cultivator over the field being required. Existing soil moisture may then be more readily conserved as a result of the soil being tilled fewer times. When the end plates are provided with a rearward incline, drag and plugging is discouraged so that uprooted weeds are deflected upwardly so as to be deposited near the surface of the soil.
Preferably, the end plates are substantially vertically oriented, parallel to the forward working direction and each including a leading edge extending upwardly at a rearward incline. The end plates are thus substantially perpendicular to a plane containing the leading edge of the shovel body.
The leading edges of the respective end plates may extend upwardly at a rearward incline which is substantially equal to a rearward and upward incline of the channel of the shank mount.
The end plates are preferably positioned substantially rearwardly of the shank mount.
When the shovel body includes a trailing edge opposite the leading edge, the end plates preferably extend upwardly past the trailing edge as well.
The end plates are preferably mounted on respective opposing outer sides of the shovel body to assist in preventing wear at the free ends of the shovel body. The end plates may be welded onto the shovel body for increased strength at the free ends of the shovel body. Alternatively, the end plates may be molded integrally with the shovel body for simplicity of manufacture.
The end plates may extend upwardly a height which is approximately equal to a height of the shank mount. The end plates still function sufficiently when extending upwardly a height which is at least half a height of the shank mount, but preferably the end plates extend upwardly a height which is equal to a full height of the shank mount or greater for optimum performance.
The end plates preferably extend upwardly from a lower end supported on the shovel body forwardly of the leading edge of the shovel body. With the lower end of the end plates projecting slightly forwardly from the leading edge of the shovel body, weeds are caught at the free ends of the shovel body and forced to be broken on the leading edge.
The leading edge of the shovel body may include a pair of end portions curving laterally outward away from each other at the rearward free ends of the shovel body, the end plates being supported on the respective end portions.
The shank mount preferably extends upwardly from the shovel body at a rearward incline for accommodating conventional implement shanks. The shank mount may further include a pair of mounting apertures therein for receiving respective fasteners for securement to the implement shank. The shovel body also preferably extends upwardly at a rearward incline from the apex to the shank mount.
The channel of the shank mount preferably has a generally C-shaped cross-section including a forward face and a pair of side portions extending rearwardly from opposing sides of the forward face.
In combination with a cultivator having a plurality of implement shanks, the shovel is preferably supported on one of the shanks with said one of the shanks being received within the channel of the shank mount of the shovel.